Forest Lawn celebrates community renewal

Amanda Stephenson, Calgary Herald04.22.2013

Forest Lawn support buttons were available at the Down To Earth Day celebration of community renewal on Sunday. The southeast community is trying to change its “wrong side of the tracks” reputation.Adrian Shellard
/ Calgary Herald

Alison Karim-McSwiney, executive director of the International Avenue Revitalization Zone, speaks with Forest Lawn residents Sunday at Down to Earth Day. The event included food trucks and puppet shows, as well as interactive exhibits about local sustainable transportation and renewable energy.Adrian Shellard
/ Calgary Herald

Raymond Rowe was building a fence around his trailer at the Vagabond Trailer Court in 2010 when residents learned there were plans to turn the site into a supermarket with street-front retail.Dean Bicknell
/ Calgary Herald

Forest Lawn residents gathered at the old location of an unsightly trailer court Sunday to celebrate community renewal as well as an early Earth Day.

The 17th Avenue S.E. site was once home to the Vagabond Trailer Court — a haphazard collection of motorhomes, trailers and chain-link fencing that had long been a thorn in the side of local community leaders.

Now it is home to a bright new Loblaw’s development, and it’s an example of the type of neighbourhood revitalization many Forest Lawn residents are hoping for.

“It (the trailer court) really was not a good example of what the area is all about,” said Alison Karim-McSwiney, executive director of the International Avenue Business Revitalization Zone. “So this going up is a very good example of how the community’s moving forward in a positive manner.”

Forest Lawn has at times suffered from a “wrong side of the tracks” reputation, but Karim-McSwiney and many of the neighbourhood’s residents are working to change that. Long-term plans for International Avenue include moving future buildings up to the street and pushing parking behind to create a tree-lined boulevard lined with interesting ethnic shops and restaurants. The goal is to make the street more pedestrian-friendly and open it up for eventual LRT service.

Karim-McSwiney said the International Avenue BRZ is also focused on environmental sustainability. On Sunday, the old Vagabond Trailer Court site was busy with food trucks and puppet shows, as well as interactive exhibits about local food, sustainable transportation, and renewable energy.

The event, called Down to Earth, was organized in partnership with the REAP Business Association, a not-for-profit association of locally owned and sustainably operated Calgary businesses. President Stephanie Jackman said Down to Earth Day has been a REAP tradition for the past five years, but this is the first time it has been held in Forest Lawn.

“We think there’s a perception that growing green is something only upper-middle-income people can do, that it’s not really accessible to everybody. So we’re very excited about doing some community building and reaching out to new audiences around the city,” she said.

Mark Labinowicz, a 10-year resident of Forest Lawn, was at the event staffing the booth for the Book ’n Worms community garden. Wearing an “I Love Forest Lawn” button, Labinowicz said outsiders might be surprised by all the activity going on in the neighbourhood these days.

“It’s different than the reputation the area has. People here care about the community, and are looking forward to renewing it and turning it into a lively and vibrant part of the city again,” he said.

Labinowicz said the ongoing revitalization of 17th Avenue S.E. should make more people view Forest Lawn the way he does: as a great place to call home.

“It’s time for a facelift. We just need to make it more accessible and renewed,” he said. “We’re not far from the city centre. It’s a place I think a lot of people should be looking to move to.”

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